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What have next James Bond frontrunners actually said about role? From Jack Lowden to Callum Turner and Josh O'Connor
The casting rumours are really heating up now...
MGM
- Patrick Cremona
Published: Wednesday, 4 November 2026 at 2:18 pm
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If you've been following movie and entertainment news at all in the last few weeks, you'll know that the very long process of casting the next James Bond has really been heating up as of late.
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According to recent reports, the search has now been whittled down to just four remaining candidates – each of whom have undergone screen tests in a bid to finally select Daniel Craig's 007 successor.
Those four actors are – if the reports are to be believed – Josh O'Connor, Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and one other unnamed star who is believed not to be the previously rumoured Jacob Elordi.
Naturally, a lot has been written about which one of these actors might be best suited to the role – with plenty of other big names from across the acting world having also had their say.
But what about the actors themselves – what have they actually had to say on the reports? Well, the honest answer is... not much.
It's highly likely that all of those in the race will have been asked to sign NDAs that prevent them from saying anything which might give the game away even slightly, but we've rounded up what they have said below.
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Josh O'Connor
Josh O'Connor. Getty
Of the three named actors, Challengers and Disclosure Day star O'Connor is currently considered the least likely to land the gig, according to the latest odds.
That said, it appears he is still in the running, and when asked about the continued rumours in a recent interview with BBC News, he responded: "It's an incredibly bizarre pinch me moment... even being uttered in that same sentence and being considered for something like that."
He added: "It is extraordinary so I'm very honoured, but I am afraid, there is nothing to say beyond that."
Jack Lowden
Jack Lowden. Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images
In recent weeks, Slow Horses star Lowden has emerged as many people's favourite for the role, and in a recent interview with GQ Hype, he was similarly non-committal.
"On this… it's all very flattering," he said. "It's nice to be mentioned – for any role – and I'm just not really going to add to the noise."
Lowden was also asked specifically about his Slow Horses co-star Gary Oldman's recent comments, in which the legendary actor suggested someone had already been cast and added that his "fingers are crossed for Jack".
"It’s very nice, and Gary’s a sweetheart," was Lowden's response. "It’s particularly lovely, coming from someone like him. But I don’t really listen to it.
"As a young male actor, generally, the minute you’re not playing a zany artist type, the minute you’re in a suit, people fling it at you."
Callum Turner
Callum Turner. Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Universal Pictures
Finally there's Turner, who has now overtaken Lowden in some odds – perhaps due to the fact he has reportedly stepped down as a director of the production company he set up with his wife Dua Lipa last year.
Turner hasn't commented on the reports quite as recently as the other two, but was asked about the links in an interview with Esquire in August.
His response, of course, is that he was not going to comment.
"I don’t know anything, so I can’t comment," he said. "There’s nothing for me to comment on."
When pressed further, he added: "I just know I’m not going to comment on it just because there’s no point in commenting on it in this moment... It’s just so loaded, it’s just such a loaded thing."
Perhaps, then, we can't look too closely at what the candidates have said for clues as to how the process might be going – let's just hope we have more concrete news very soon!
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Authors
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
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